Why settle for a plain green garden when you can grow a rainbow? Our pro gardener has rounded up 18 vibrant vegetables that do double duty — adding bold color and delicious flavor to your backyard beds.
From deep purple carrots to bright rainbow chard, these eye-catching veggies turn your garden into a feast for the eyes and the table. Get ready to plant your most stunning harvest yet!
1. Purple Cauliflower
Move over white cauliflower! The purple variety contains the same antioxidant found in red cabbage and red wine, giving it that royal purple hue that stands out dramatically against green leaves.
Growing just like regular cauliflower, this purple beauty needs full sun and consistent moisture. The vibrant heads develop best in cool weather, making it perfect for spring or fall gardens.
Kids are often more willing to try vegetables in unusual colors, making purple cauliflower a smart choice for families with picky eaters.
2. Rainbow Swiss Chard
Walking through my garden last summer, visitors always stopped to admire the rainbow chard first. Those candy-colored stems in yellow, pink, orange, and red create a stunning display even before harvest time.
Each stem color actually represents different varieties bundled together as ‘rainbow’ chard. The leaves taste identical regardless of stem color – mildly earthy with a hint of beet-like flavor.
Plant these colorful beauties 12 inches apart in rich soil, and you’ll enjoy both ornamental value and nutritious greens from spring through fall.
3. Dragon Tongue Beans
Resembling something from a fairy tale, Dragon Tongue beans feature creamy yellow pods splashed with purple streaks that look hand-painted. The purple markings fade when cooked, giving you a fun before-and-after kitchen magic trick.
These Dutch heirloom beans grow on compact, bushy plants rather than climbing vines. The crisp, juicy pods have exceptional flavor eaten raw in salads or lightly sautéed with garlic.
For the most dramatic color display, grow them on a sunny border where afternoon light shines through the translucent pods, highlighting their unique patterns.
4. Cosmic Purple Carrots
Slicing into a Cosmic Purple carrot reveals a surprise that delights garden visitors – vibrant purple skin with a bright orange core! The contrasting colors create a stunning effect in salads and on vegetable platters.
Ancient carrots were actually purple before being bred for the orange color we know today. These heirlooms contain beneficial anthocyanins in their purple pigment, the same compounds found in blueberries.
Grow them in loose, sandy soil free of rocks for the straightest roots. Thin seedlings early to give each carrot room to develop its perfect cosmic coloration.
5. Red Burgundy Okra
Garden visitors often mistake Red Burgundy okra for an exotic flower! The entire plant is ornamental – with burgundy-red stems, red-veined leaves, and creamy yellow flowers with crimson centers followed by ruby-colored pods.
Unlike many vegetables that hide their fruits, okra pods grow upright above the foliage, showcasing their color. The plants reach an impressive 4-5 feet tall, making them perfect background elements in edible landscapes.
Harvest pods when they’re young (about 3 inches long) for the best texture and flavor. The red color fades slightly when cooked but still maintains a rosy hue.
6. Glass Gem Corn
Opening your first ear of Glass Gem corn feels like discovering treasure! Each translucent kernel gleams like a polished jewel in shades of blue, purple, red, gold, and pink – sometimes all on the same cob.
Originally developed by a Cherokee farmer preserving native corn varieties, Glass Gem has gone viral among gardeners seeking both beauty and heritage. While too hard for fresh eating, it makes exceptional cornmeal and stunning decorations.
Plant in blocks rather than single rows to ensure proper pollination. Each stalk produces 2-3 ears that reveal their rainbow surprise when husks are peeled back at harvest time.
7. Chioggia Beets
Cut open a Chioggia beet and you’ll find what looks like a candy cane in vegetable form! The alternating rings of deep pink and white create a bullseye pattern that will make anyone do a double-take at the dinner table.
Dating back to pre-1840s Italy, these heirloom beets have a sweeter, milder flavor than common red varieties. They’re less likely to stain your hands and cutting boards, making them practical as well as pretty.
For the most vivid rings, harvest when roots are about 2 inches in diameter and serve them raw in thin slices. The pattern fades slightly when cooked but still maintains its charm.
8. Watermelon Radishes
Mother Nature’s practical joke – watermelon radishes look utterly ordinary from the outside with pale green skin and simple round shape. Slice one open, though, and the brilliant magenta interior will make you gasp!
Growing to the size of tennis balls, these Asian radishes (also called Red Meat or Rose Heart) develop their most vibrant colors in cool weather. The flavor is milder than regular radishes, especially when harvested young.
Plant them as a fall crop for winter harvests when other colorful vegetables are scarce. Their stunning appearance on vegetable platters makes them worth the 60-day wait from seed to harvest.
9. Lemon Cucumber
Round, yellow, and about the size of a tennis ball, lemon cucumbers surprise garden visitors who expect them to taste citrusy. Despite their appearance, they’re true cucumbers with a sweet, mild flavor that lacks the bitterness sometimes found in green varieties.
Victorian gardeners prized these heirlooms for their delicate taste and charming appearance. The plants produce abundantly throughout summer, with each vine yielding dozens of the sunny yellow fruits.
Harvest when they’re pale yellow before they turn golden (which indicates overripeness). Their thin skins need no peeling, making them perfect for fresh eating in salads.
10. Purple Tomatillos
Resembling little purple lanterns, these tomatillos develop inside papery husks that split open as the fruits mature, revealing their jewel-like color. The contrast between the tan husks and purple fruits creates a magical effect in the garden.
Sweeter than green tomatillos, the purple variety adds unexpected color to salsas and preserves. Their rich purple skin contains anthocyanins – the same healthy compounds found in blueberries.
Plant at least two for proper pollination, and give them room to spread their sprawling branches. The plants produce dozens of fruits from midsummer until frost, creating a continuous display of color.
11. Graffiti Eggplant
Graffiti eggplants stop visitors in their tracks with their vibrant purple-and-white striped skin that looks almost artificial. Unlike the common dark purple varieties, these eye-catching beauties bring artistic flair to the vegetable garden.
Beyond their stunning appearance, they offer sweeter flavor and fewer seeds than traditional eggplants. The plants themselves grow compact with silver-green leaves that highlight the colorful fruits.
Harvest when the skin is glossy and firm, using scissors to cut the tough stems. The vibrant color holds well during cooking, though it will eventually fade to a more uniform purple in long-cooked dishes.
12. Atomic Red Carrots
Unlike orange carrots that fade when cooked, Atomic Red carrots actually intensify their color with heat! These remarkable roots start out coral-red and transform to deep crimson when roasted or sautéed – the opposite of most colorful vegetables.
Their vivid color comes from lycopene, the same healthy compound found in tomatoes. The sweet, earthy flavor has notes of umami that make them taste richer than orange varieties.
Give them loose, deep soil and consistent moisture for the straightest, most colorful roots. When harvested in cool weather, the color is most intense, making them perfect for fall gardens.
13. Golden Zucchini
Imagine spotting bright sunny-yellow fruits among your garden greenery! Golden zucchini brings unexpected color to the summer garden when green vegetables dominate the landscape. Their cheerful color persists even when cooked.
Growing identically to green zucchini, these golden varieties offer the same tender texture and mild flavor. The plants produce prolifically from early summer until frost, creating a continuous display of color.
Harvest when fruits are 6-8 inches long for the best flavor and texture. The bright yellow skin makes these easier to spot among the foliage, helping prevent the common problem of overlooking zucchini until they’re overgrown.
14. Purple Vienna Kohlrabi
Looking like something from another planet, Purple Vienna kohlrabi grows bulbous purple stems above ground that resemble UFOs with leafy antennas. Their otherworldly appearance makes them conversation pieces in any garden.
Despite their exotic look, they’re actually quite easy to grow and ready to harvest just 60 days after planting. The crisp, juicy flesh inside has a mild, sweet flavor similar to broccoli stems with hints of radish.
Plant in early spring or late summer for the best results. The purple color intensifies in cooler temperatures, making fall-grown kohlrabi particularly vibrant and eye-catching.
15. Peppermint Swiss Chard
Candy-striped stems in bright white and crimson red make Peppermint Swiss Chard look good enough to eat – which is perfect, since that’s exactly what you’ll do! The striking red-and-white pattern runs up the stems and into the leaf veins.
Growing just like other chard varieties, Peppermint offers the same nutritional benefits with extra visual appeal. The plants tolerate partial shade, making them perfect for adding color to less sunny garden spots.
Harvest outer leaves continuously throughout the season, allowing new ones to grow from the center. The colorful stems can be chopped and cooked separately from the greens for beautiful color in stir-fries.
16. Purple Majesty Potato
Cutting into a Purple Majesty potato reveals a surprise – the purple color isn’t just on the skin but goes all the way through! The rich violet flesh retains much of its color when cooked, creating dramatic purple mashed potatoes or roasted wedges.
Beyond their striking appearance, these potatoes contain up to four times the antioxidants of ordinary potatoes. The flavor is slightly nutty and less starchy than russet varieties.
Grow them like any potato, planting seed potatoes in early spring. The plants produce pretty purple flowers before the underground tubers develop their royal coloration.
17. Five Color Silverbeet
Imagine a vegetable that brings together five vibrant colors in one plant! Five Color Silverbeet (another name for Swiss chard) features stems in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red and white – often all growing from the same plant.
Originally from Australia, this heirloom variety creates a rainbow effect even more dramatic than standard rainbow chard. The plants grow vigorously in both cool and warm weather, providing color nearly year-round in mild climates.
Space plants 12 inches apart to allow each one to develop its full color potential. The flavor is mild and versatile, working equally well in salads when young or cooked dishes when mature.
18. Indigo Rose Tomato
Breaking the tomato color rules completely, Indigo Rose develops an almost black-purple skin on the portions exposed to sunlight. The dramatic color comes from the same anthocyanins found in blueberries, making these among the most nutritious tomatoes available.
Developed at Oregon State University, these medium-sized tomatoes ripen to show a striking contrast between the indigo-purple shoulders and red bottom portions. The flavor is balanced between sweet and acidic with complex undertones.
Grow them in full sun for the deepest purple coloration. The plants produce abundantly throughout summer, with each fruit taking about 80 days from transplant to harvest.